a third-year teacher's escapades in the realm of the public high school. sometimes witty. sometimes sad. sometimes angry. always exhausted. it's a bumpy ride, but i wait for the moments that make it worth it.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Thanksgiving Break

I've said this before, but I'm going to say it again...students think we have no life.

My freshmen took tests the day break started, fill-in-the-blank and two essays...50 of them. I had four days off for Thanksgiving. I had 25 junior term papers to grade, two weeks of lesson planning to do for four classes, and a lot of random grading; plus, like my students, I wanted some vacation time as well. So, I didn't even bother taking the tests home.

I got back to school yesterday, and a student asked if I'd graded them. I told him no. I hear another student lean over and whisper, "She had four days." I may've made him wish he hadn't said that.

My response: Would you like to take the 25 five to seven page junior essays home with you and get those finished? Did you want to grade the tests that my other classes took? Or how about those worksheets you all did? Do you want to read Oedipus and figure out what you're going to do to teach it to a bunch of freshmen? Or possibly you can figure out what my other classes are doing for me as well? Wanna give all your time over break, so I can grade your tests?

His face turned about five shades of red. He was quite embarassed, as he should be.

I was a little stressed out yesterday...had my evaluation...and I wasn't taking kindly to any nonsense.

it always amuses me to no end when students expect you to have their tests returned to them the very next day. I always attempt to explain to them that I see 100 students a day and getting anything back the very next day is next to impossible.

of course, I'm even more amused when they hand me something (which they know not to do) and then when it's not in the grade book, they'll say something like, "don't you remember when I handed it to you last week?" I almost always inevitably find it, but it irks me that they expect me to remember what they specifically did a week ago.

This post makes me laugh. I remember when I was in high school I would ask my teachers if they were going to hand back our tests that we did on Friday( and I wanted my test back the following Monday). Now that I am in teacher education school the question seems to backfire. I haven't had to take home 130 tests to grade over the weekend yet, but now I have a better understanding of the reality of teaching. It's almost like a gamble. Do you make your students happy and tell your family or your boyfriend that you can't have any freetime this weekend, or do you make your students wait and have your fun with your loved ones? Which choice is better? I guess it depends upon the situation. Teachers have lives also, and it is impossible to please everyone. So my activities over the weekend or over break would depend upon the importance, I guess. What do you think? Do you agree? I'm just curious.

I remember reacting the same way as a student. Sometimes students do not realize that teachers have lives too. It is funny how students react when their grades aren't ready, papers not graded, or tests not grades. I am a victim of mumbling comments like that to my teachers in the past. Once a teacher gets on a routine, the students will soon learn when to expect their work to be returned to them.